construct state

[ kon-struhkt ]

noun

, Grammar.

1. (in Semitic languages) the inflected form of a noun dependent on a following noun, with the combination expressing a genitive relationship, as Hebrew beth David “house of David,” where beth “house of ” is the construct form of bayit “house.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of construct state¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Major components of the 1994 crime bill, for example, dedicated federal money to hire local police officers, fund victims’ services and construct state prisons.

From New York Times

The demands and revolts of employees also drove capitalists to construct state apparatuses that could discipline and suppress them.

From Salon

In their construct, state power reigns supreme, political competition is extinguished, civil society elbowed out, and freedoms of expression, association and belief suppressed.

From Washington Post

House of God—house being in the construct state.—Bear a construction, to allow of a particular interpretation.

From Project Gutenberg

Construct′iveness, the faculty of constructing; Construct′ure.—Construct state, in Hebrew and other Semitic languages, the state of a noun depending on another noun, which in Aryan languages would be in the genitive case—e.g.

From Project Gutenberg